For 4 days I’ve been trying (unsuccessfully) to find time to post something urging the Nats to sign either Francisco Rodriguez or Casey Janssen for the bullpen. Well, the team beat me to it:) And am I happy! Good job Mike Rizzo.
Now, if they just had a GOOD second-baseman the would be all set for 2015.
Here is yet one more better move than the Scherzer signing: Cole Hammels is still out there. Every staff of starting pitchers should have at least one lefty, right? They could have acquired Hamels for significantly less than $210M, then traded Gio, the weak-link of the rotation. With the money saved they might have acquired a top second-baseman, like Ben Zobrist, or at least one who is better than “The Danny,” and isn’t a clubhouse liability.
With a bit more time to reflect on this massive coup, I’ll admit that the Nats now have some insurance in case JZimm, Fister or Strassburg is traded. If i were the GM, as I said before, I would make EVERY effort to keep the first two!
They also have some insurance (though not on a par with Scherzer) if Ian Desmond walks after this season, having acquired Trea Turner and Yunel Escober who can both at least fill in at SS until a real good option comes along.
Even with Tanner Roark likely moving to long-relief in the pen (and I predict he will excell in that role) Mike Rizzo still needs one more late inning flame thrower. Treinin has some potential, but I’m not quite convinced he’s NASTY enough:)
The Nationals and their fans woke up today to a total shock! Mike Rizzo had pulled off the biggest deal of this off-season; he played poker with Scott Boras and walked away with Max Scherzer for $210 million over about a hundred years:) Why? What the team really needed was Ben Zobrist at 2B and more offense! Instead they have a journeyman 2B on the downward side of his career and a broken bank account.
I guess Zobrist just didn’t work out, but it’s hard to see why if the team will pay this amount for a pitcher they don’t even need. Well, having Scherzer does give the team some insurance if JZimm or Doug Fister walk after the 2015 season. But the odds of them getting their money’s worth out of such a long/expensive pitcher contract are exceedingly slim. And it seems they are stuck with their weakest pitcher, Gio, because he is their only lefty starter. If I were in Rizzo’s shoes I’d be trying to trade Gio now for a good hitter for the bench or a better closer than Storen. The bench and the bull-pen are where Rizzo needs to focus
The only person really happy about this is Scott Boras, agente extraordinaire:)
Most amateur national tournaments have moved to wood bats. And there is a movement back to wood in the DC area where I play. Last year I discovered a local source of excellent bats, Baret Bats. I began to try them out and found that I liked them so much that I took them to the annual Roy Hobbs tournament last November. My article posted Nov. 26, 2014 has photos of me using a Baret Bat. Here is some info:
Baret Bats
For the last two years Juan Baret has been perfecting the art of baseball bat making right from his home woodshop. Bat making is the next chapter in Juan’s lifelong passion for the game that has given so much joy in his life. Juan is a military vet and is the founder and bat maker of Baret Bats. This is a boutique style bat company that makes bats the old fashion way on a wood lathe and chisels, using the best available pro stock ash, maple and yellow birch hardwoods.
Baret Bats is a one-man operation that focuses on giving the individual player a truly customized bat, handmade to their specifications and hitting style just the same way the pros get their bats done. As a former amateur baseball player and coach Juan knows firsthand that the quality of wood bats available sold at retail are mass produced with inferior wood, and are not made unique to the individual. A main objective of Baret Bats is to give the same treatment to customers regardless of whether they are in little league or the major leagues.
Many amateur players have used Baret Bats and most are repeat customers who provide valuable feedback in improving the bats. Juan has made bats for two minor league players from the Potomac Nationals, for example.
Juan has mainly used word of mouth to promote Baret Bats, but as the business grows he is looking to include more visits to baseball teams in the DC area and a website. If you would like to know more about Baret Bats or to talk hitting you can contact Juan directly at (808)230-9904 or email baretsports@gmail.com. You can also follow his Facebook and Instagram pages @ http://www.Instagram.com/BaretBats or http://www.facebook.com/BaretSports.
Pete's Curveball 